Home About Bible Studies Documents Charts Contact Links THE MANY NAMES OF GOD
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"Give thanks to Yahweh, call on his name.." Psalms 105:1a
In the Bible there are many different names given to the One True God. The
most frequently used names are YHWH, usually rendered as Yahweh (ca. 6,800
times); Elohim (ca. 2,600 times); Adonai (ca. 439 times); and El (ca. 238
times). Most of the other names are combinations of these names like El
Shaddai, El Eloah, and Yahweh Elohim. The most commonly used names for God in
the Hebrew and Protestant Bibles are Ha-Shem (meaning "the name" which is used
in the modern Jewish Masoretic Text translations of the Tanach) and Jehovah
(used in both Protestant and Jewish translations). Both are names for God that
only date back to the Middle Ages and are not found in the ancient texts of
Sacred Scripture.
ADONAI: The word adon, in Hebrew, is translated "lord." God's name as Adonai
is a form of the word "adon" with an "ai" ending. Adonai is used about 439
times in the Bible and can be translated either as "Lord" or as "my Lord".
Biblical scholars and linguists, however, cannot agree as to the meaning of the
"ai" suffix that has been added to the Hebrew word for "lord" (adon). Some
scholars have suggested it indicates a plural of majesty. In most English
translations this word is rendered as "Lord" with the first letter capitalized
and the other letters lower case. Those translations that have the word "Lord"
in all capital letters, "LORD", are instead indicating God's covenant name YHWH
(usually rendered "Yahweh"). The use of all capital letters denotes the
difference between the use of Adonai and Yahweh. (Only the NRSV translation
confuses the issue by rendering Adonai as both "Lord" and "LORD").
EL and ELOHIM: The word El is used for God about 238 times while Elohim is used
about 2,600 times. In the Bible Elohim has two distinct meanings. First it is
a plural form (-im and -ot are the standard Hebrew plural endings) of the word
"god" in the Hebrew and the Canaanite languages which is rendered "el" in the
singular (when the word "el" is used for the One True God it is always
capitalized = "El"). An example of the first meaning used in the plural form
can be found in Deuteronomy 5:7 "You shall have not other false gods [elohim]
before me." But the most common use of Elohim is its second distinct meaning
when it is used as a personal name for God or when referring to God as the true
God among false gods. Thus it is used in Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning Elohim
created the heavens and the earth..." , and also in Joshua 24:19 "You cannot
worship Yahweh for He is a holy god [elohim]..". There is no explanation why
the plural form is used for the One True God (as it is in Genesis 1:1).
However, scholars from the times of the Fathers of the Church have suggested
that the plural form suggests the mystery of the Trinity which was hidden in
the Old Testament to be revealed in the New.
YHWH: The four Hebrew consonants that comprise YHWH are given in Scripture as
God's holy Covenant name, and it is this form of His name that is the most
frequently used in the Bible (about 6,800 times). These four Hebrew
characters, YHWH = yad, hay, vav (v in Hebrew can also be rendered w in
English), and hay have been called the "tetragrammaton" or "tetragram", meaning
"the four letter word." Biblical scholars do not know how YHWH was originally
pronounced because its original pronunciation, which was part of the sacred
Oral Tradition of the Jews, was lost when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed
in 70AD. Throughout history God's Old Covenant people treated God's name with
great reverence, declaring it too holy to be spoken aloud. Speaking God's
Covenant name was restricted to the priests worshipping in God's Temple in
Jerusalem, and so with the destruction of the Temple His holy Covenant name was
no longer spoken and the correct pronunciation of the name was lost. The
rendering of YHWH as "Yahweh" is a modern conjecture (first suggested in the
16th century by Biblical scholar Gilbert Genebrard, professor of Hebrew at the
College Royal in Paris) but which has been accepted by Biblical scholars today
as the most likely rendering. You will find this rendering in the Catholic New
Jerusalem Bible translation. In other translations, following what became the
Jewish custom, YHWH is rendered as LORD (for example in the Catholic Revised
Standard and New American Bible translations as well as in most Protestant
Bible translations). This became a custom from the time of the 3rd century BC
when the ancient Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
into the Greek translation known as the Septuagint. They replaced the Sacred
Name YHWH with "ho Kyrios" or "the Lord." In the modern Jewish Tanach YHWH is
rendered as Hashem (or ha-Shem, meaning in Hebrew, "the name") or as Adoshem,
which is a contraction of Adonai and ha-Shem.
But what does the tetragrammaton YHWH mean? Biblical scholars have been
arguing about the meaning of YHWH for centuries. Since biblical names
generally have a discernible meaning, scholars have believed that YHWH can be
reasonably translated. Based on etymology and context most scholars have
agreed that YHWH is an archaic form of the verb "to be" (in Hebrew hawah) and
should be translated "I am who I am or I will be who I will be." This meaning
contextually fits the passages in Exodus 3:13-15a: "Moses then said to God
[Elohim], 'Look, if I go to the Israelites and say to me, "What is his name?"
what am I to tell them?' God [Elohim] said to Moses, 'I am [YHWH] he who is.'
And he said, 'This is what you are to say to the Israelites I am [YHWH] has
sent me to you...'" Which agrees with Exodus 3:6 "I am the God of your
ancestors.,..." and Jesus' I AM statements in the fourth Gospel i.e. "In all
truth I tell you, before Abraham ever was, I AM." (John 8:58).
JEHOVAH: The Biblical reference to God as Yehova (Jehova) spelled out with
Hebrew characters first appeared in the Middle Ages (c. 800AD). At that time
Jewish scholars (called the Masorites) translated the Greek translation, of the
(Old Testament) Bible back into Hebrew and added vowel points to the Hebrew
language (which had originally only been written with consonants). Since that
time, Hebrew Bible manuscripts have inserted the vowels from Adonai within the
tetragrammaton, YHWH, as a reminder that readers should say "Adonai" instead of
the sacred name which "must not be spoken." The pronunciation of "Jehovah" was
unknown until 1520 AD, when a biblical scholar named Galatians introduced it.
This pronunciation was contested by other scholars as being against grammatical
and historical propriety. However, when Protestant scholars began their
vernacular translations (into their common languages) of the Old Testament
using the Jewish Masoretic translations, they also mixed the four consonants of
YHWH (JHWH in German) with the vowels of Adonai in the mistaken belief that
this was the correct pronunciation of the Sacred Name and from then on YHWH
appeared in Protestant Biblical texts as "Jehovah". This rendering is most
frequently used in the King James Version translations as in, "Let them be put
to shame, and perish: That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah,
art the most high over all the earth" (Psalms 83:18). Modern scholars do not
recognize this form as a legitimate name for the Hebrew God and dismiss it as a
misreading or mispronunciation.
Names for God found in Sacred Scripture and some of the passages in which these
names are found:
a.. Elohim = "God" (plural) as in the Creator , Genesis 1:1"In the beginning
God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth."
b.. El Elyon = "God (singular) Most High", Genesis 14:18-20 "And Melchizedek
king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of (El Elyon) God
the Most High. And He blessed him and said, ''blessed be Abram of God Most
High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has
delivered your enemies into your hand."
c.. El Roi = "God Who Sees", Genesis 16:13-14 "Then she called the name of
the LORD who spoke to her, 'You are a (El Roi) God who sees'; for she said,
'Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?' Therefore the well was
called Beer-lahai-roi (well of the living one who sees me."
d.. El Shaddai= "God Almighty"?, or "God the All-Sufficient One"?; the
etymology is so ancient that Biblical scholars do not agree on the meaning of
this name. Genesis 17:2-3 "I AM El Shaddai. Live in my presence, be perfect,
and I shall grant a covenant between myself and you, and make you very
numerous. And Abram bowed to the ground."
e.. Yahweh = found in Scripture as the consonants YHWH, known as the
"tetragramaton" is God's holy Covenant name. The letters form a word or words
from the verb "to be" and most scholars translate it as "I AM who I AW or I
will be who I will be", or "the Self-Existent One": Exodus 3:13-14, "Moses said
to God, 'Look, if I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your
ancestors has sent me to you, and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what am I
to tell them?' God said to Moses, 'I AM He who is. Tell them that I AM who I
am sent you." (Yahweh)
f.. Adonai = "Lord", Exodus 4:10-12 "Then Moses said to the LORD, 'Please
Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since
you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.
And the LORD said to him, 'Who has made men's mouth? Or who make him dumb or
deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?'" note: LORD, all in capital
letters is a substitution out of reverence for God's covenant name "Yahweh".
g.. Yahweh-jireh = "Yahweh will provide" or "I AM will provide". Genesis
22:11-14 "But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said,
'Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' And he said, 'Do not stretch
out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you
fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, form Me.' Then
Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behind him he saw a ram caught up in
the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up
for a burnt offering in the place of his son. And Abraham called the name of
that place (Yahweh jireh) The LORD WILL provide, as it is said to this day: On
the Mountain Yahweh provides."
h.. Yahweh-rapha = "Yahweh who heals", Exodus 15:26 "If you will give
earnest heed to the voice of Yahweh your God and do what He regards as right,
if you pay attention to His commandments and keep all His laws, I shall never
inflict on you any of the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians, for I am
Yahweh your Healer (Yahweh rapha)."
i.. Yahweh-nissi = "Yahweh My Banner", Exodus 17:16 (after willing a battle
with God's assistance ) "Moses built an altar, and named it (Yahweh-nissi)
Yahweh is My Banner..."
j.. Yahweh-mekoddishkem = "Yahweh Who Sanctifies You", Exodus 31:12 "And
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 'But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel,
saying, "You shall surely observe My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me
and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am
(Yahweh-mekoddishkem)Yahweh who sanctifies you..."
k.. Yahweh-shalom = "Yahweh is Peace", Judges 6:22-24 "He said, 'Alas, my
Lord, Yahweh! Now I have seen the Angel of Yahweh face to face ' Yahweh
answered, 'Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die.' Gideon built an
altar there to Yahweh and called it (Yahweh-shalom) Yahweh is peace."
l.. Yahweh-sabaoth = "Yahweh of Hosts", Psalms 24:10 "Who is He, this king
of glory? (Yahweh-saboath) Yahweh of Hosts, He is the king of glory." Ps.46:7
"Yahweh-sabaoth is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold."Note: the
"hosts" are the army of angels who serve God.
m.. Yahweh-raah = "Yahweh My Shepherd", Psalms 23:1 "(Yahweh raah) The LORD
is my shepherd; I shall not want."
n.. Yahweh-tsidkenu = "Yahweh Our Saving Justice", Jeremiah 23:5-6 "Look,
the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall rise an upright Branch for
David; He will reign as king and be wise, doing what is just and upright in the
country. In his days Judah will triumph and Israel live in safety, and this is
the name He will be called (Yahweh-tsidkenu) Yahweh-our-saving-justice."
[New Jerusalem translation]
The Names of Jesus in the Book of Revelation:
1:8 The Alpha and Omega
1:8 Lord God
1:8 The Almighty
1:13 Son of Man
1:17 The First and the Last
1:18 The Living One
2:18 Son of God
3:14 Witness
4:11 Creator
5:5 Lion of the Tribe of Judah
5:5 Root of David
5:6 The Lamb
7:17 The Shepherd
12:10 Christ (Anointed)
19:11 Faithful and True
19:13 Word of God
19:16 King of Kings
19:16 Lord of Lords
What ever word you use when you call upon the name of God remember to call in
reverence and in love for the word that expresses the essence of God in His
most intimate relationship with you is LOVE, for "God is love" [1 John 4:16c].
"We are waiting for Yahweh;
He is our help and our shield,
For in Him our heart rejoices,
In His holy name we trust.
Yahweh, let your faithful love rest on us.
As our hope has rested in you."
Psalms 33:20-22
Michal Elizabeth Hunt, Copyright © 2003 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All
Rights Reserved.
. Miscellaneous Documents
REFERENCES:
1.. The Jewish Book of Why, Alfred J. Kolatch, Jonathan David Publishers,
Inc. 1995
2.. Bible Review (August 2003): "Why God has so Many Names" by Bernhard Lang
(Old Testament and religious studies, University of St. Andrews, Scotland &
Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Paderborn, Germany).
3.. Dictionary of the Bible, John L McKenzie, editor (Simon & Schuster,
1995).
4.. Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament vol II, Martin R. Vincent,
D.D., Union Theological Seminary, (Hendrickson Publishers).
5.. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, R. Brown, S. Driver,
and C. Briggs, (Hendrickson Publishers,2002).
. Miscellaneous Documents
http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/documents/The%20Many%20Names%20of%20God.htm
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